Priya — AC-01

Age: Early 30s Platform: Android (free tier) Status: New user, onboarded within the past week

Who She Is

Priya is a software engineer who treats self-compassion the same way she treats debugging: systematically. She downloaded the app after reading a Kristin Neff article and wanted to verify the research before committing to the practice. She read every screen during onboarding before tapping next.

She is new to intentional self-compassion work. She knows she has a self-critical inner voice — she just never had structured tools for addressing it. The app's framework resonates with her because it's evidence-based and organized into clear components she can learn one at a time.

How She Uses the App

Priya opens the app at exactly 7:15 AM, before work and after coffee. She has done three Compassion Breaks so far and completed one mood check-in after each. Her approach is consistent and low-friction: same time, same location, same practice.

She reads the three-pillar descriptions in the Practice Library carefully. She hasn't yet explored journal entries — she's still in the "understand the system" phase — but she plans to start journaling once she feels the Compassion Break is habitual.

Her mood check-in data shows a pattern: self-criticism ratings drop from 4/5 before practice to 2/5 after. She noticed this on the Progress tab and found it meaningful — it's the first concrete evidence that the practice is having an effect.

What She Needs from the App

• Reliability: She expects the app to behave consistently. A missed streak count or a slow-loading practice would undermine her trust.
• Clear structure: She wants to understand what each practice does and why before starting it. Duration and pillar tags are important to her decision-making.
• Accurate data: Her mood check-ins need to save reliably. If the Progress tab showed incorrect data, she would investigate rather than trust it.

Design Implications

Priya demonstrates that new users benefit from clear onboarding and well-labeled practices. She reads what's in front of her — the app must not waste that attention with filler. Duration filters and pillar tags aren't optional conveniences for Priya; they're decision inputs.

Her 7:15 AM usage window means the app must load quickly and respond without lag on a mid-range Android device. She will not tolerate an app that takes more than a second to become interactive in the morning.

Current State

• Practices completed: 3 Compassion Breaks
• Journal entries: 0 (planned)
• Streak: 3 days
• Subscription: Free
• Device: Android (mid-range)